The invention is concerned with a two-component releasable fastening device which employs a compressed member in the direct link effecting a connection between the two components.
The advantages of using a compressed member in this way, instead of a tensile member with hook-type attachment as in the heretofore typical knee-lever lock devices, is that it requires only one hinge or none at all. This makes the device more suitable for production using an injection-moulding technique, whereas a typical knee-lever lock requires two hinges or more, or else requires a self-hinging system to be employed if it is to be injection-moulded. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,466,076 (Bisbing).
Furthermore, the invention, because it does not rely on a self-hinge system for its operation, may be injection-moulded in many different kinds of plastics material--such as nylon, a material known under the Trade Mark "Delrin", or polypropylene--without compromising the effectiveness of the fastening device.